


Bet on Red

by thelast_thingido



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, WIP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23521891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelast_thingido/pseuds/thelast_thingido
Summary: Joan had a bit of a problem with gambling and redheads.
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 83





	Bet on Red

Joan had a bit of a problem before she settled down with her late husband Charlie, which was how she decided she was going to refer to him in her head from now on, despite him still being very much alive. She used to gamble. Not always on chips or cards, but maybe occasionally on a horse or two, and on side bets she thought she was a shoo-in for.  _ I bet you can’t outdrink me _ , or _ I bet you I can get a ride in that guy’s private jet _ , or  _ I bet you this all-nighter can turn into a whole weekend _ . She always rose to a challenge regardless if it was safe or not because that was just the kind of person she was before Charlie. She was  _ fun _ . Or reckless, depending on who was asked. Joan was remembering her glory days as she took too many shots with a girl half her size matching her one for one. She wanted to make a few bets tonight, but being fun and being reckless were differences that Joan realized as she got older. So for today she just did the bets to herself.

_ Bet you I can get that asshole ex to sign the divorce papers in record time. _

_ Bet you I can get Zoey to come out drinking with me to celebrate. _

_ Bet you she wears the heels I bought her for the SparkWatch launch party. _

Which she did without prompting but it still made Joan feel like she won something. The bar they ended up at that night wasn’t the speed she was looking for. It was a speed she  _ should  _ have stayed with, but she wanted to be  _ fun _ Joan. She wanted a gamble.

So,  _ bet you I can get us to go to Simon’s engagement party. _

Which wasn’t exactly a rave, but it had to be better than getting drunker and drunker with nothing but bright expecting blue eyes staring at her, and a trademark Zoey smile that you needed sunglasses to look at. That kind of night only had one ending and betting can turn reckless real quick, Joan reminded herself.

The heels Joan bought her paid themselves off already, making defined calves pop as Zoey climbed into the car her boss ordered for them. Zoey wasn’t thrilled about going to Simon’s party and if Joan was a little soberer she might have figured out why. As it stood, she could barely land gracefully in the back seat next to the redhead, let alone decipher the girl’s meek and awkward protests.

Even if the night didn’t have hot tubs and topless men in its future, Joan was still having fun, which was all she really wanted. Once they were settled in the silence of the car, the music from the bar a distant thumping in their minds, Joan looked over to Zoey who had taken out her phone to nervously scroll through apps without purpose. Her cheeks were as red as her dress, which must have been from the alcohol since the California air was mild tonight at its most exciting. She was squirming subtly, crossing and uncrossing her legs as if she didn’t know how to sit like a person, which had Joan rolling her eyes.

“You can take the shoes off if they’re bothering you.” She said, her voice breaking the silence and startling Zoey, who jumped a little as if she forgot there was someone else in the car. Joan didn’t take offense, the home screen of her phone must have been remarkably distracting.

“No, no they’re not.” Zoey protested with a reassuring smile. “They’re perfect.”

Joan gave a smirk in return and arched her eyebrow

“You’re squirming.”

The younger woman’s red cheeks got a little redder, causing her to give off a mumbled response about how the ride was just bumpy.

Joan chuckled quietly, leaning back against the seat but still staring at her counterpart. Zoey put her phone down, probably aware of being watched and decided to stare straight ahead at nothing which must have been torture for her. 

“God, I’m too drunk for you Zoey.” Her boss spoke suddenly, with calculated words even if they were slightly slurred. That got the younger woman’s attention as she looked over to Joan.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Joan just shrugged, but the way Zoey reacted it may as well have been some kind of confession. Not that the girl reacted right away, she did her ‘Zoey’ thing where her eyes go distant and unreadable, staring at something that wasn’t there, until the lights came back on right before Joan was going to pinch her to see if she was still in this realm of reality. 

“Oh.” Was all Zoey said, eyes darting away and looking forward as her posture went stiff.

“Oh?" She chuckled again at this quiet little mouse that turned more obvious and more into a mystery every day. The older woman shifted again towards her, voice deepening. "Did you have an epiphany?"

_ Bet you I can make those cheeks even redder. _

Joan was crossing over into recklessness and she knew it. This was high stakes gambling that she had been doing lately, and betting on red every time was going to cost her eventually. 

She could blame  _ this  _ night on the alcohol at least.

"I’m too drunk for those." Zoey replied quietly, but there was a smirk growing on pink lips, which had Joan confused and confident all at once. The whole list of things she could bet herself to do right now opened up in her mind like it never had before. There were a few bets here and there she would do to play around with the idea. Though those bad ideas were turning into bad choices within seconds, the kind you make when you’re on a winning streak but you still push all the chips forward just so you can feel alive again. 

"Then I won’t kiss you like I want to." Her lips brushed against Zoey’s curls that covered the girl’s ear, shifting her body close. The coder gasped and squirmed again, but stayed quiet. It used to always irritate Joan the way Zoey would ramble or cower at any show of authority or aggression. It would cause her to snap at the girl too quickly, grating on her nerves, because she thought it was a weakness. So, Joan would purposely get more stern the meeker Zoey got and knowing  _ why  _ was exactly what an epiphany did.

Joan didn’t think like that anymore, realizing that Zoey’s submission was strength and the only person feeling weak right now was Joan.

_ All in _ , she thought to herself as they pulled up to Simon's engagement party.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I liked the idea of doing this with Joan's pov, mostly because I can't navigate around putting musical numbers in my fics, I'm not that talented, but it does give it a unique taste. I'd love to hear feedback! :)


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